Tolene began her career in the tourism industry at Exclusive Getaways, the luxury South African operator. She later joined London-based tour operator African Affair Travel, furthering her specialism in African tourism product before founding Boutique Travel Marketing, where she spent seven years growing the hotel representation company. Tolene joins the Malta Tourist Authority following five years as the Hub Head for South African Tourism for UK & Ireland.
Tolene said “I am thrilled to be a part of the Malta Tourist Authority’s UK & Ireland team. The archipelago has had a fantastic boost in its tourism in the past few years and is now considered to be one of Europe’s hottest destinations for history and culture, LGBT+, gastronomy, diving, and soft adventure travel. With attentions now turning to wellness, city breaks and sustainability, I am excited to be part of the tourism authority’s increasing success in drawing a variety of travellers to experience all that the islands have to offer.”
Carlo Micallef, CMO and Deputy Chief Executive, MTA, said: “MTA is delighted to have secured the services of Tolene van der Merwe to join a strong highly professional team in London and continue building on the success achieved under Peter Vella’s stewardship in the past four years. Malta’s tourism industry continues to enjoy record performances year on year and MTA together with Ministry for Tourism have a strategy of further market diversification, route connection development, tourism product enhancement as well as Malta brand identity growth to ensure that the success continues.”
